Malaga, Spain

On our last sea day, we tried something different. There was an inflatable maze set up in one of the theaters and it was for lazer tag. 

We were given a vest with a gun, and placed on teams. It was fun and a new experience, but not something we loved, probably because we didn't do so well.  😃 

They really did a fantastic job of having unique opportunities on our sea days. Many of these activities are only available on cruises with many sea days. We also attended a talent show of the crew. So much talent!

Overnight, we sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar. Too bad, it was the middle of the night. I would have liked to see that. It separates Europe from Africa, only 9 miles wide at the narrowest point.

Today we are in Malaga, Spain. We went on a four hour bus and walking tour. Unfortunately, our guide was very difficult to understand. We probably got less than half of what she said. I researched what we saw online when we got back, so I can share a few facts.

Malago has a population of about 600,000. It is 2,800 years old, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe. It was founded in 760BC by the Phoenicians. 

Malaga has warm winters and hot summers with 300 sunny days a year, almost as many as Yuma. May is the busiest tourist month. We can attest it was very busy today.

We started at a lookout where we saw the harbor, our ship and a bull fighting ring. Bull fighting is still practiced, but losing popularity. 

Next we stopped at a square where there was a sculpture of Pablo Picasso. 

Picaso birthplace is on second floor of this building. 

He was born in Malaga in 1881, and lived here for 10 years. His father was an art professor, and moved the family to Barcelona. There is a musem dedicated to Picasso here with many of his earliest paintings. His better known work is on display around the world.

He was baptized in the Church of Santiago, which is the oldest church in Malaga started in 1509, built over a mosque.

Throughout the city are many beautiful flowers and Jacaranda trees. They have the most beautiful purple blooms. Amazingly, we've seen these trees in California; Sydney, Australia; and now Spain.

Because the city is so old, there is a lot of different architecture. In the picture above, you can see the old fortress walls and a new hotel being built on the left. The city is very clean, except for much graffiti. 

The Roman Theater is below the fortress walls.

Antonio Banderas is from Malaga, and has a home on the penthouse floor of this building in the city center.

We toured the Cathedral of Incarnation, also known as the One Armed Lady. The reason for the nickname is that only one tower was finished during its construction from 1528 to 1782. 

There are several theories as to why the second tower wasn't finished, including the money was given to the American colonies to fight the British and/or to make improvements to the city for all the benefit of all the population.

The inside is spectacular. There are two huge pipe organs from the 18th century. One of them still works!

This was called the choir area. It's where the choir and clergy sat. There are 42 individual relief carvings made of mahogany wood. Each one is unique with incredible detail.

Lots of side chapels with beautiful statues, paintings and carvings. 

This is a painting of St. Nicholas. He was a 4th century bishop known for his generosity to the needy. There is a story that there was a poor family with three little girls. St  Nicholas threw coins down the chimney to help them. Sound familiar?

There were quite a few people that were painted silver or gold who pretend to be statues in tourist areas. We've seen this before in other cities, but this genie was sure unique. I can't figure out how he appears to be standing on thin air.

I wasn't able to get a picture, but there are tons of wild green parrots flying around the city and making lots of noise. It seems they were brought here as pets. Some owners didn't like how noisy they were, so released them into the wild. They have thrived.

I laughed at this story as we know first hand how noisy parrots are. Our Yuma neighbors have one that screeches for hours daily. 

Tomorrow we arrive in Cartagena. 

Azores, Portugal

The night before our first port, they had a Welcome to Europe party complete with a balloon drop. Fun, fun, fun!!

Our first port was the city of Ponta Delgado, on the island of Sao Miguel, the largest island of nine islands known as the Azores, part of Portugal. 

The ship docked just a five minute walk from downtown. We got off in the morning and wandered around. I bought a magnet for the fridge, and Kevin had a tasty Portuguese stout beer called Super Boch. 

In the afternoon, we had booked an excursion for a scenic drive around the island. 

View of downtown from the ship. They have a swimming pool and ocean beach next to the pier.

Our ship, Voyager of the Seas 

Our first stop was the Vista do Rei lookout where we had a great view of Sete Cidades, two lakes in the cone of an extinct volcano. These lakes are known for the far one being blue, and the front one being green. Here's a picture from the web of what they should look like.

Here is what we saw. The back lake is not as blue due to algae that has invaded the lake. They are working on eradicating it. Still a very beautiful view!

The view from the other side gave us a peak at the ocean.

Azaleas were growing all over the island. There were also many hydrangea bushes all along the roads. They bloom in July.

Do you see the bumblebee??

We stopped at another lookout to view the ocean and many cones of ancient volcanoes. It looked like it might rain all afternoon, but it never did. The climate here is tropical with highs fluctuating between 50 and 80 degrees year round. Lots of rain keeps it very lush and green.

Our next stop was a pineapple plantation that has been in operation since 1850. The pineapples have to be grown in greenhouses because its not warm enough. They are mainly sold locally or imported to Europe. We tried some pineapple liquor. Neither one of us loved it.

Our last stop was a botanical garden. The tree is an Australian fig tree. Our guide, Manuela said it was 160 years old.

The baby ducks were so cute!

We now have two more days at sea before we reach Spain. Today there was a flash mob performance which was so entertaining. They had only 2 practices, and did a fantastic job! 

We also went to Dancing with the Stripes. This is a dance competition where officers are paired with passengers. Today was the final. The dancing abilities were quite good, and we had a lot of laughs as well!

Transatlantic Cruise

On May 3, 2025 we left Cape Canaveral, Florida on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas for a thirteen day transatlantic crossing. The port was quite busy with five ships leaving that day. 

Our ship has a rock climbing wall, a flow rider (surf simulator), water slides, pickleball, mini golf and lots of entertainment venues.

I thought about trying to climb the rock wall until I saw how tall it was. 😳 I hope to try out the water activities when we are in the Mediterranean, and it is warmer. 

For the first time, we booked an ocean view category. I'm quite happy with this option. The window is large, and the views are beautiful. We chose not to get a balcony as I figured it would probably be chilly crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and I was right. 

Temperatures on our sea days started in the 70s, and are now in the 60s as we are in the middle of the ocean. The wind is strong and cold. We haven't spent much time outside.

So, what to do for seven days at sea?? We eat, drink, play games, read, go to shows and other entertainment events. The time actually goes by pretty fast.

We were invited to a "top tier" event for loyalty level passengers with some complimentary drinks and a welcome from the captain and officers. Captain Joseph is from Barcelona and has been a captain for 22 years. He's the youngest looking captain we've ever had.

On May 5th, we celebrated Cynco de Mayo. There was a huge cake, decorations and Mexican music.

The entertainment has been quite good. This ship has an ice skating rink. The ice skating show was excellent!! There is open skating for passengers, but we will skip that. Don't want any injuries before we get to our port excursions.

 

There was a second ice show especially for this Atlantic crossing. The skaters choreographed the show themselves. It was also very good!

One night we enjoyed The Passing Zone, comedy jugglers. They have 5 Guinness World Book records and 18 gold medals from the International Juggling Association. Super talented and funny.

Yesterday we were treated to an Anchors Aweigh parade complete with pirates and floats. I'm really impressed with all the unique events they've provided for our days at sea!

A few nights ago, I finally saw a gorgeous sunset. Other days have been cloudy or we were at a show.

A perk of our loyalty level is a whopping $4 each to use in the slot machines. Between us, we won a nickel. 😆 🤣 I'm going to keep it as my lucky nickel!

One night the entertainer was Amanda Poulson from Wisconsin. She has been in broadway shows and has an album. She had a beautiful voice, and I really liked her song selections. 

Some cruise lines have done away with the towel animals. We're getting one every other day. Who doesn't love towel animals!

 

The seven sea days have been fun, and have gone by quickly. Tomorrow, we will be on land again in the Azores, islands that are part of Portugal.